U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORBUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Heritage Resources

BLM Cultural Policy and Guidance

Laws and Regulations

BLM's Cultural Program is conducted under Federal mandates. No employee time or effort, contract expenditure or government equipment occurs unless authorized by Federal Statutes. Laws and regulations that pertain to the Cultural Program may be found here.

BLM Manuals

BLM operates and provides guidance to its employees under a system of instructions in the form of BLM manuals. Generally, laws specify what must be done; whereas, the 8100 manual section and H-8120-1 handbook provide the guidance as to how it should be done. Earnest work on BLM's Cultural manuals began in 1976 and these documents have undergone many refinements and updates to date. The manuals are regularly reviewed and updated so that they are up to date.

BLM Programmatic Agreement

In 2012, the BLM Director, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers signed a national Programmatic Agreement (PA) explicitly framed "to emphasize the common goal of planning for and managing historic properties under the BLM's jurisdiction or control in the public interest." The PA (Section 5. b.) calls for cooperation and enhanced communication among SHPOs and BLM States as well as "a protocol specifying how they will operate and interact under this agreement." Each BLM State that operates under the PA has a "Protocol" agreement: